If you could only keep six...

Nailed my feelings. I too think Aldridge is a key piece. He just may not be the piece some of us thought he would be. He has value in a trade obviously, but has more value to us if Oden is back.
    As far as Oden, we have cast our lot there, and I am willing to take whatever happens. I am optimistic and if for some reason it doesn’t work out, I can live with the gamble.

  One of the things I think Nate and his coaches do NOT get credit for is developing players. His “resistance” to playing rookies can also be viewed as a careful development plan. I see this played out on Bayless. If he was on a team last year and this year getting big minutes and being relied upon to score, does he make the turn to Point guard / Combo Guard? Or does he become Monte Ellis?

 Good Post.

   RoadBlazer

In order: Roy, Oden, Batum, Aldridge, Rudy, Bayless

Reasons:
1. obvious
2. Too much potential to shrug off as ‘injury ridden’. Everything points to coming back healthy, lets all hope for that
3. He will work every night and we will be able to tell. Too many of those ‘intangibles’ he is one of the rare types who can fill a stat sheet across.
4. Perfect compliment to the previous 3. Has big upside.
5. Love the idea of a Rudy-Roy-Batum shared ball duties. Of course we probably need a more specialized ball handler (bayless/miller) if we get full court pressed, but barring that they have the chops to move the ball around alot.
6. Mostly to invest in future and keep a fast quick “get to the rim” scorer.

Roy
Oden
LMA
Batum
Bayless
Rudy

actually, that was pretty easy. to me, there is a clear dropoff after that when you are talking 3 years down the road…

Just because the dude is hurt doesn’t mean his ceiling is lower.

(In order)
Oden
Roy
Batum
LMA
Bayless
Rudy

Bayless & Rudy are close. Batum’s ceiling is obviously huge, but Oden’s is still much higher than anyone else on the team — he’s the one who can take us from a good team to a great team. He might not, but he’s the only one with that chance.

Too many variable to calculate well at three years

In order:
Oden – I’ve seen what a quality center can do for the Blazers.
Batum – still early but I’ll place a bet.
Roy – I’d like to see him speed up a bit.
Rudy – this choice was tough. He’s the player most squarely in Roy’s shadow.
LMA – he’s stepped up a bit recently. If he learns to like that up-and-under move,
                        look out.
Bayless – actually likes to drive to the hoop. You can’t teach that. If he can take the
                        blinders off and spot open teammates more, he’ll be a real weapon.
Miller – he only falls out of the top six due to age in three years. No reason the
                        Blazers couldn’t contend next year. He’ll be invaluable.
Przybilla – could very easily switch him with LMA.
Webster – I don’t know.
Howard – age factors in but he has to have honorable mention.
DC & JP – they’ve done well, not sure about their ceiling.
Mills – further research necessary.
ECs – I wouldn’t keep ‘em, but that’s my opinion.

1) Roy: elite sg, reluctant to score more
2) Batum: best prospect, needs to gain weight
3) Aldridge: size, touch, speed, needs mentoring
4) Bayless: better than young buck imo, quick, needs playing time
5) Fernandez: starting SG on a team like the raptors, also very marketable, no defense
6) Pendergraph: aggressive, physical, gritty, good hustle, skill level questionable

Guess it depends on whether we’re talking about ‘for next year’ or ‘for a championship run down the line’.

Bayless
Roy
Batum
LA
Oden

And, even though I’m no fan, if I had to keep one more, I’d keep Outlaw for the championship run. Miller if we’re looking at just next year.

Bayless is the PG of the future although I like him more in a 6th man role. We don’t have a point on the roster who I’d want to keep long-term.

I think Rudy overlaps way too much with Bayless and Roy and has nowhere near the handle or defensive skill set to be a PG or SF.

LMA and Greg aren’t complete players but complement one another quite well.

Batum doesn’t have the scoring pop yet that Webster has shown at times this year, but his defense wins him the spot.

The untouchables on this roster are BRoy, Batum, and Bayless.

Everyone else is movable THIS YEAR or next, given the right trade.

My personal choice for which 6 to keep is as follows:

1) BRoy
2) Batum
3) Bayless
4) *Oden / Pryzbilla
5) Rudy
6) Cunningham

Everyone else is potentially on the chopping block.

The most obvious omission on my list is LMA. Why do I omit him? Because I see him as a cupcake prima-donna who has neither the heart nor the hustle to reach his potential. He is a tease who will never be a viable 4 on a championship team, or at least ours. He is not willing to work hard to improve, plays no defense, can’t score on the block, doesn’t know how or care to draw contact/fouls inside, completely disappears in the 4th quarter, and generally pees down his leg in crunch time against big time opponents (Cavs and Lakers games come to mind). He clearly likes to see himself as a Dirk Nowistski type player. The problem is he has no handle and no 3 pt shot, so defenders don’t have to respect his so-called “outside game”. On my team, my 4s are not allowed to play like soft 2s. If I’m running this team, he is gone in a trade for Bosh or Stoudamire instantly.

Why did I put an asterisk next to Oden’s name? Because we as Blazer fans may need to resign ourselves to the fact that Oden will never be 100% healthy or completely dependable throughout an entire season. He is clearly a game changer who could be the center piece of a championship run if he stays healthy. However, it is a legitimate question now as to whether that will ever happen. Because of this, I put Pryzbilla in the same slot as being indispensable. To the casual fan, Pryz might be the most under-rated, under-appreciated Blazer on the team and is certainly one of the most unknown/under-rated in the league. However, there is a reason that prior to his injury he was the one Blazer who GMs around the league wanted the most. He is an impact player at the center position.

My other picks should be obvious: BRoy is a Top 10 player in the league, maybe Top 5 when playing at the top of his game. Batum & Bayless are the only other 2 players on the roster that Nate/KP refuse to discuss trade possibilities with other GMs. In my book, Batum is potentially the best player on the roster if he lives up to his considerable potential. Given his hard work defensively, there is good reason to believe he will reach that potential in the next 2 – 3 seasons. I believe he will eventually be the face of the franchise more so than Roy. Bayless is a gifted scorer with upside as a PG. He can get to the rim as well or better than all but a handful of players around the league. That alone is worth keeping him around. But he is also showing signs of being able to run the team if given minutes. Cunningham is a hustle player with a non-stop motor, a love for playing D, and a very high BB IQ. This is much more than can be said about LMA. Finally, Rudy has a non-stop motor, seems to be in the right place at the right time more often than not, does a good job rebounding for a finesse guard, is clutch & has a knack for hitting BIG shots, is a better defender than given credit for by most critics, and seems to raise the entire team’s energy level when he enters the game.

Given the injuries to Oden/Pryz & LMA’s inability to man the middle, it’s clear that KP needs to make a move before the trade deadline if we expect to make any noise in the playoffs. Otherwise, we are writing this season off as a “developmental year” and admitting we don’t expect to get out of the first round.